Neon Genesis Armored Riders
by Soulsilverlord
Summary: 15 years ago the Second Impact occurred, the first Overlord appeared and Antartica became Helheim. The Overlords resurface but humanity is prepared this time with NERV and their Armored Riders. Shinji Ikari never wanted to be an Armored Rider, but he got stuck doing it. Along with his fellow Riders, they must fight the evil Overlords before it is too late. ShinjixRei, OCxMari
1. Chapter 00

Neon Genesis Armored Rider

* * *

Prologue 00: Why Do We Live?

* * *

**We fight for the Forbidden Fruit. For the person who has the Forbidden Fruit, can stop the invasion of the forest.**

The red colored Rider was kicked to the ground as the large red Inves stood over him. He laughed and kicked the already collapsed Rider in the torso, causing the body to go further into the forest.

"Damn it... Stop..." Courtright, the red Rider, said, slowly crawling to the wall of the temple area.

"It is too fun to watch you apes squirm." The crimson Inves said, slowly walking to the red colored Rider. "Mind if I end you now?"

"Not really..." Courtright said, removing both of his guns and shooting at the Inves. The smoke that came from the collision of the bullets and the armor of the Inves allowed Courtright to get to his feet.

Quickly moving down the path, he made his way toward toward the Yggdrasil crack. The crimson Inves had stopped following him, allowing Courtright to cancel his transformation. He sighed and sat down toward the closest tree.

"Why must these things be happening all in a row? I didn't want to run back into that thing again." York, Courtright's identity, said. He looked around and noticed a lack of Inves. "Wonder where those things ran off to."

York took a breath and got up, heading back on the path. Around him were the sounds of the forest, an almost calming sound. Suddenly, he heard a noise. The noise was the sound of a crack opening in the forest. He looked over to see exactly what he thought it was, despite being a bit different. The crack was golden and was opening rather slow.

"What a strange crack. Better check through it real quick, make sure there's nothing coming." York said, slowly dragging his body through the now open crack. He stepped through it, only for it to close the moment he walked through it.

"Well shit." York said, quickly taking out the Rose Attacker and getting on it.

…

"The Third Overlord has arrived!"

"Begin countermeasures to contain the infected!"

"Deploy the Kurokage Troopers at once, put squad delta on evacuation duty!"

Members of NERV rattled out orders as the Third Overlord had arrived, alongside an army of Elementary Inves.

"Commander Ikari, can we deploy Rider 00?" An officer said, as many others continue to spread orders.

"Rider 00 is unable to be deployed at this time. If my own calculations are correct than we should be able to deploy Rider 01 within three hours, at the maximum." Ikari said, pushing his glasses up to his eyes. "Deploy Rider 00 if 01 does not arrive in time."

"Yes sir."

"Sir, an unknown reading has picked up on the radar."

"Rider 01? Has he finally arrived?"

"We don't know sir. It seems as if something else is approaching." One of the scientists yelled, typing fast on the computer.

"The wavelengths are green, it's another Overlord!" Another scientist said, confirming the wavelength

"Impossible!" Ikari said, looking at the screens before him. "The Fourth Overlord already?"

"We can't confirm as of right now, but it does have a similar wavelength."

"Deploy Rider 00 to the location of the Fourth Overlord." A sudden phone ring cut off Ikari as he picked up. "Yes? Send them to the Delta Five immediately. Thank you."

…

"Misato-san? Where are we headed?" the voice of a young boy asked. He looked all around him as the car sped off through the infected grassy area.

"Don't worry we're headed toward NERV Headquarters." The older woman replied, focusing intently on the road.

Shinji looked to the roads as he saw men in black suits and helmets, holding long spears as they directed people to shelters.

"Those are?" Shinji said, wondering who the black suited men were.

"Those are NERVs soldiers, the Kurokage troopers. I'm sorry there isn't enough time to explain now, but soon we can tell you. First, we stop here." Misato said, as she pulled over to the side of the road. People had already abandoned the closest part of the city so quickly.

"This is the way to NERV?" Shinji asked, as he exited the car.

"Yes, it is now we need to hurry." Misato said with a sense of urgency as she began to walk down the forest-infested road.

"Okay one second!" Shinji said, trying to run after Misato. As he walked behind her he noticed many strange fruits hanging from the foliage. Those were the forbidden fruits that everyone knew about, yet he had yet to see one for himself. They looked very good.

Shinji stopped in his tracks as he walked over to the wall where several vines had grown. He couldn't stop himself as his hand drifted over to the fruit, which he proceeded to pluck of the vine. He heard a yell come from behind him, the voice belonging to Misato.

His mind had frozen there and for a moment everything seemed at ease. The fruit seemed to dissolve right in his hand, as if it were rejecting him fully. The fruit had disappeared, replaced by an lock with an orange on it.

"Shinji-kun we need to hurry now!"

…

"What's happened here?" York said, stopping his Rose Attacker and getting off of it. He looked around to see tall buildings, each seemingly covered in Helheim's vines. "This isn't the forest, is it?"

He looked around to see several Elementary Inves eating the premature fruits of the forest.

"Definitely looks like it. Might be best to be safe for right now. I haven't seen this many Inves in a long time." York took the Cherry Lockseed out of his pocket and clicked the button on the side of it.

**CHERRY**

"**Henshin.**" York placed the Lockseed onto his driver and locked it into place, before hitting the cutting blade once.

**LOCK ON! COME ON! CHERRY ARMS! RIGHT TO OBLIVION!**

A large cherry dropped from a crack in the sky, before falling onto York's head forming a western cowboy kind of armor. The armor locked into place, and two revolvers appeared in his hands.

"Time to get moving." He was suddenly cut off as a large shield smashed into his back, causing him to fall over before looking up at his attacker.

"Zangetsu?"

To Be Continued…

**NEXT TIME:**

_**Shinji is immediately deployed to fight the Overlord, even though he doesn't know how to fight. Meanwhile, Rider 00 fights Courtright in a battle to the death. Can Shinji harness the power of the Lockseeds properly, or will his own mental state crush him?**_

LOCKSEEDS:

Shinji: Orange

Rider 00: Melon

York: Cherry, Lemon Energy, Showa, Fifteen


	2. Chapter 01

Chapter 01: The Orange Warrior / Exploding Sunlight

* * *

"Zangetsu?"

The normal Sengoku Driver wearing white rider stood there, with no words spoken in reply. York knew that it wasn't Kureshima, as he had high respect for those in the organization. It was definitely someone else, but any worker would have known not to attack him; especially when there were so many Inves rolling around in the open.

"I'm guessing you're not Kureshima-san." Courtright said, recovering from the battery charge on him. The white rider said nothing as he approached Courtright with his Musou Saber at the ready. "I didn't think so. And these probably won't work for melee fighting." Holstering his guns he removed a different Lockseed from his belt, one that looked like it had a bug man on it, surrounded by other bug men. He unlocked the new Lockseed after taking the old one off.

**Black RX! **

**LOCK ON!**

**COME ON! Black RX ARMS! Son of the Sun!**

A large head dropped from a crack that appeared in the sky. The head resembled the larvae of a bug, with large red eyes on it. Like a fruit, it dropped onto Courtright's head before splitting open to form armor around him. The armor was similar to the armor that Kamen Rider Black RX had for his chest armor. A weapon suddenly appeared in Courtright's hand, a sword like weapon that was brimming with energy in its blade.

"Revolcane! Let's go!" Courtright said, running at Zangetsu. Again Zangetsu made no noise whatsoever before engaging in combat with the other Rider. The red Rider's sword smashed into Zangetsu's shield, before being quickly hit off and stabbed in the chest causing him to fall back a little.

"You are an anomaly." The White Rider said, almost emotionless. It was that of what sounded like a female voice. Courtright got up from the ground and picked up the Revolcane.

"Anomaly? Don't know what you mean, but I can tell that I don't like you. Not one bit. Let's try something else if you're just going to do guard." He quickly hit the cutting blade twice more.

**COME ON! ROBO RIDER!**

A ghostly image appeared next to Courtright. The ghost looked like a robotic Rider holding a gun in his hand. The Revolcane suddenly turned into a replica of the weapon that the robot held.

"Let's see who's stronger." Courtright said, holding the gun in front of him, with the pale image doing the same.

"Okay." Zangetsu pulled the Lockseed off of her belt and placed it on the bay of her Musou Saber.

**1-10-100! MELON CHARGE!**

**VOLTECH SHOOT!**

The two guns fired off powerful charges of energy at Zangetsu, who blocked it with her shield, before leaping into the air and slashing at Courtright, hitting him directly. The stream of green energy hit Courtright in the chest, causing him to lose his transformation.

"Damn it. Never look down on any world's Zangetsu." York said, his head glancing at a fruit. "This is the only chance I might have."

Zangetsu walked slowly toward the beaten man. The latter ran over to the closest wall and grabbed onto a fruit.

"Please let this work." He ripped it off the vine, and it immediately transformed into a Strawberry Lockseed. "Couldn't have asked for a better choice." Clicking the button on side of the lock, it did not announce anything.

Zangetsu looked perplexed as a crack appeared in the sky. Instead of a fruit dropping, a large monster dropped instead.

…

"Zangetsu has defeated the targeted Overlord. That was quick, almost too quick." One of the computer experts said, looking at the sudden loss of an Overlord wavelength.

"Overlords have many tricks, this may be just one of them." Gendo said, not too sure if they had already beaten an Overlord.

"SIR! There's a new wavelength coming from the site of the Overlord and Rider 00. It's different from anything else we've ever seen!"

..

"Don't tell me you've never seen an Advanced Inves? With all these little idiots running around I'd thought you'd at least seen one before. Oh well, Inves attack her!" York said, pointing at Zangetsu.

The Shika Inves roared loudly before running at Zangetsu, who engaged in combat with the blue colored deer monster.

"Catch ya later, Slaying Moon!" York said, getting on his Rose Attacker and speeding off as far away as possible.

"I can't believe I lost to her… It's my own fault I probably should have used the other Lockseed instead. I have too much fun with that one though…" He stopped before looking down at a black colored Lockseed.

...

"As you know, fifteen years ago the Second Impact occurred. The Overlords appeared and they began turning humans into their own kind, what we call the Inves. All of the world was affected by the Overlord's presence and they turned most of the world's food into their fruits." Misato said, as the two made their way lower and lower into the Geofront.

"Yeah that's why we have to wear these belts." Shinji said, looking down at his waist, where a large black buckle was. "They keep us from turning into Inves after eating the fruits."

"That's right, but the other belt your father sent you was for the reason of fighting the Inves. That fruit you picked turned into that lock. We call them Lockseeds, purified versions of the fruits of the forest. Those black armored men use a prototype version to use weak Lockseeds to evacuate people safely." She continued to say, as they made their way to the launch station.

"Why me? If those men out there are fighting, why was I taken here? I don't know the first thing about fighting or saving people." Shinji said, sullenly looking down at the Orange Lockseed.

"I'm afraid it's because only you can, Shinji-kun." Misato said, swiping her ID to unlock the large metal doors in front of her.

"Only I can?" Shinji said, absentmindedly pulling out the other belt he had. It looked similar to his own, only this one had a yellow knife on the side and a bay where he assumed the Lockseed went.

"We can better later, but for now we need you to fight the Inves." The doors opened to reveal a place where many people were on computers screaming orders at each other. Shinji looked around before his eyes locked onto one certain person, his father, Gendo Ikari. His father also saw him and looked at him with emotionless eyes.

"Shinji… You have come." Gendo said, looking down at his son. "Deploy him as quickly as possible. Send him as back up for Rider 00." Gendo turned around, ignoring his son and entering an adjacent room.

"Father…" Shinji said again, each time he said it his father ignored him.

"Come Shinji-kun, we need you to deploy for battle." Misatio said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Why should I? My father called for me, but he didn't even look me in the eyes…"

"That doesn't matter right now Shinji-kun. You need to fight."

"If my father doesn't want me for what I can do, then I can't…" Shinji was cut off by the sudden yelling of one of the men at the computers.

"Rider 00's vitals have taken a hit. Whatever she's fighting is doing a number on her. We need to deploy Rider 01 now!"

"Rider 00?"

"Yes she's fighting an Overlord as we speak. And you're the only one that can help her."

Shinji was silent for a moment. He looked down at the small Lockseed in his hand. Was he needed? Probably not, but right now in this moment he was needed. For some reason Shinji could not shake this strange feeling he had. The feeling of being needed? Maybe.

"I'll do it.. I'll fight." After that Shinji's mind went blank for moments as Misato walked him over to the launch pad. Under instruction he removed his Arc Belt and replaced it with what they called the Sengoku Driver.

"You got all of that?"

"Oh yes… I do." Shinji said, having been briefed on where he was going. Suddenly he was shot out at an incredible speed toward the surface. He opened his eyes to see that the growing vines and ferns now outside once again, surrounded him. This was the reality that he lived in, a horrible one.

He looked around and began to run to where Rider 00 apparently was. Then he heard another odd noise, one that sounded like a motorcycle running through the vines. The person on the motorcycle appeared in front of him, quickly stopping to avoid getting ran over.

"Yo, you okay kid?" The man said, looking at Shinji from on his motorcycle.

"Uhh yeah."

"You should probably stay away from here. Lot's of Inves that way, I'd avoid them if I were you."

"Oh… Okay." Shinji said, not really knowing what to say to the stranger.

The person nodded before revving up his bike and moving on from where he was. Shinji sighed and attempted to go a different route to avoid the Inves that the man said was roaming around.

Then he saw her. She was like the black armored men, except with brilliant white armor covering her body. On her chest was green-melon colored armor, which came up as spikes on her shoulders. In her hands were a sword and shield, as she clashed with a strange blue Inves.

"Now's not the time to chicken out Shinji. You have a duty now!" Shinji said to himself. He looked at the Orange Lockseed and after taking a deep breath, hit the button on the side.

**ORANGE**

A large orange appeared above him.

"An orange?" Shinji placed the Lockseed on the bay and locked it into place. He hit the knife once as well.

**LOCK ON!**

**SOIYA! Orange Arms! Hanamichi on Stage!**

The orange descended onto Shinji's head, zapping a suit onto his body. The orange then split apart over his head to form the shoulder pads and chest armor. In his hand was a large sword, in the shape of an orange slice.

"This is me?" Shinji said to himself as he looked in front of himself. He heard a roar and looked at the blue Inves, which had began to charge at him. He yelled in surprise and threw his arm out, causing his sword to connect with the Inves' head. Zangetsu looked on and moved in as well, striking it with her own sword. Looking down at his side, Shinji realized he had the same sword as a sidearm.

Shinji pulled out the other sword from its sheath and struck at the Inves once again. It became like a wild frenzy as Shinji struck as the Inves with ferocity. One sword striking the monster's head and the next hitting its torso and so on. The creature roared in pain, backing away from Shinji. There was fear in its eyes, much like an injured animal. It was an emotion that normal Inves could not pull off.

**MELON SQUASH**

The monster exploded as Rider 00's foot connected with its face, finally killing the monster.

"I feel tired." Shinji dropped to the ground, as his transformation broke. Zangetsu looked around as the forest's vines started to retreat.

To be continued…

**NEXT TIME: **York encounters the Overlord Inves and engages in battle with him. Meanwhile, Shinji awakens to learn more about the Rider System and decides on where to live.


	3. Chapter 02

Chapter 02: What are we?

* * *

_"That's one ugly looking Inves." York said, looking through his binoculars at the large red Inves, armed with a sword. "Haven't seen anything that crimson in the Inves catalogue yet."_

_ "I've never seen one like it either. I suppose we should eliminate it before it can do any damage on the outside." Takatora replied, putting his own pair on binoculars onto the ground. He removed his Genesis Driver from the bag of supplies he was carrying._

_ "I guess that'd be the smartest thing to do. He looks tough, though, that's for sure." York said, removing his own Sengoku Driver from his coat. "Shall we go?"_

_ "I suppose so…" Takatora got up from his spot and dusted his pants before placing his Driver onto his waist. York did the same with his own Driver. The two walked close enough to get within earshot of the large red demon._

_ "Yo, Inves! Over here!" York said, waving one of his hands. The crimson Inves then looked over to the source of the sound._

_ "Dji gokus esg era?" The crimson Inves said, turning his whole body at the two Riders._

_ "Did he just talk?" York said, pointing out the strange noises. Takatora stood silent for a moment, before sighing and pulling out his Melon Energy Lockseed._

_ "Looks like it. I have a feeling we won't want to stick around for long, so let's get this over with." Takatora said, pressing the button on the side of the energy Lockseed._

_**Melon Energy!**_

_"__**Henshin.**__" Takatora said, placing the Lockseed on the Driver Bay. He then pressed in the juicing device to initiate his transformation._

_**Lock On! SODA! Melon Energy Arms!**_

_From the sky of the Helheim, a large melon appeared before dropping onto Takatora's head. The melon split apart, forming a white base armor around Takatora's body, while the actual melon formed chest armor. In his hand appeared a large bladed bow, the Sonic Arrow._

_ "Looks like I should go as well." York said, removing his own personal Lockseed, the Cherry. He unlocked his as well._

_**Cherry!**_

_ "__**Henshin.**__" York said, attaching the Lockseed to the Driver Bay and locking it into place on the belt. He then struck the Cutting Blade once to activate his transformation._

_**Cherry Arms! Right to Oblivion!**_

_A large pair of cherries dropped from the sky and attached itself to his head, creating the base armor and then splitting apart to form the western cowboy appeareance of Courtright. From his belt he removed two twin revolvers and pointed them at the crimson Inves. _

_ "Time for work!" York said, running directly into combat with the new Inves. Zangetsu Shin followed in suit._

_ "Des moi re? Ko se shi ka ma!" The Inves said, pulling out his sword and running at Courtright. His sword made direct contact with Courtright's chest causing sparks to fly as Courtright fell to the ground._

_ Zangetsu grunted, raising his bow and running at the Inves. With all his force he struck at the creature, which simply raised its sword and blocked it. The creature grunted before throwing a punch at Zangetsu, causing him to fall back. As he attempted to recover, the Inves took the initiative and stabbed at him with full force. The resulting impact caused him to fall further, right next to Courtright._

_ "Damn he's tough!" York said, getting back on his feet._

_ "He is. Stay on your guard and shoot when he's occupied attacking me." Zangetsu said, looking over to his partner._

_ "Gotcha." Courtright and Zangetsu ran back at the monster. It seemed to laugh in enjoyment as Zangetsu's blade struck with its own. The monster attempted to strike with its arm, but was caught by Zangetsu's other hand._

_ "Not this time." Zangetsu moved his hand and punched it in the abdomen, causing it to fall back a little. "Now!"_

_ "Right." Courtright said, running forward and jumping into the air. He began to pull the triggers of his two guns, unloading a torrent of bullets onto the Inves. The creature looked up as the bullets made contact, causing dust clouds to appear where the scattered bullets hit it._

_ "Did we get him?" Zangetsu said, looking over to the dust clouds. After a second they could both hear footsteps quickly making their way toward the two._

_ "Ga shime kor ma na de kaq!" The voice of the Inves thundered as its sword made contact with Courtright's neck, causing him to immediately fall to the ground in pain. Zangetsu looked over for a split second before being struck in the chest with the same sword._

_ "Damn you, Inves!" Zangetsu quickly pulled the back of his bow, causing it to sound, before releasing it causing it to shoot out several arrows of energy at the Inves. These seemed to do the trick, hitting him several times, with the armor of the Inves beginning to smoke. It grabbed its arm in pain; it angrily looked at Zangetsu._

_ "Deemushu! Kai ni ra sai go ran? Gai sen no Roshu!" A new voice rang out. The Inves, apparently having the name Deemushu looked at the two Riders angrily._

_ "Shime! Kor a gas me wo!" Deemushu said, putting his arm up in the air. Several other Elementary Inves appeared, as he slipped by the closest crevice._

_ "I don't have time for this." Zangetsu looked down at his partner, who was not moving. "Damn Inves." The several Inves made noises as they came running toward the two._

_ Zangetsu readied his bow, as several pink colored arrows rained down on the Elementaries. He looked up to the sky and noticed a short pink armored Rider sitting in the tree. She leapt down and looked at the taller man._

_ "You… Why are you here?" Zangetsu said, looking down at the pink Rider._

_ "I knew I couldn't leave big brother in your care." She said in reply, kneeling down and looking at the red Rider. "He's such a fragile person, yet you couldn't protect him… That's why I followed you here." She looked at the Inves and pulled off her Lockseed before putting it onto her Sonic Arrow._

_**Lock On! Peach Energy!**_

_The tip of the arrow charged an incredible amount of energy before being released and shot at the Inves, causing the blast to destroy all of them. _

_ "Now shall we go?" She walked over and with incredible strength, picked up the limp body of her older brother. Zangetsu could only look at her with a look of fear._

_ "Something's not right with that girl." He said to himself, as he walked behind her, not looking back once at the sight of the monstrous Inves._

…

"Deemushu…" York said, knocking his foot by the side of a building. He shuttered at the thought of the monstrous creature. "Don't think bad thoughts… Bad thoughts lead to bad feelings…" He massaged his temples as he walked along the sidewalk. Despite having been overrun with large amounts of foliage two days before, the city where he was seemed to be back to normal.

People walked amongst each other, acting as if giant creatures from another dimension didn't overrun the city just a couple days before. Some gave the young man strange looks, which would have made sense considering his ethnicity. Ignoring the masses he continued his trek around the city. He would have to find a job and a place with low rent while he was here.

York stopped in his tracks. He felt a strange feeling, one that anyone from his organization would know. It was the feeling of being watched by someone. Whether malicious or not, he knew there was someone or something following him.

Sighing he continued forward, looking at the many large buildings. They put Yggdrasil's main HQ to shame. The stress was getting to him and he decided to do as he normally did when extremely stressed. Finding the closest alleyway, he quickly went toward it. From his pocket he pulled out a small orange bottle filled with pills. He carefully removed two of them and put them into his mouth. He grunted in relief, placing the bottle back into his pocket.

"Him." A soft voice said from behind him. York didn't get a second to look behind him, as he was knocked unconscious from behind.

…

The darkness seemed to disappear as he awoke from his forced slumber. In the tiny room where he was locked up in, there was barely any light. He could see to the other side of the room, however. An older man stood there. He had orange-tinted glasses, with a brown beard that connected to his hair.

"The hell you do to me?" York said, panting as the pain from where he had been struck flooded into his head.

"I personally requested a less violent way, but this was the only way to get you here without raising suspicion." The man said, remaining stationary in his spot.

"Knew I was being followed. Never trust anybody, unless you know them… So why'd you bring me here? I didn't break any laws by sleeping on the bench in the park, did I?"

"I brought you here for one reason only." The man walked toward York and removed York's Sengoku Driver from his pocket. "Why do you have this?"

"Why should I tell you?" York said, defying his captor.

"I don't think you're in the position to be defiant, young man. Only a few of these personalized Drivers exist in this world. You're young, white, and obviously lived in America. Are you from there?"

"You could say that. I lived in Manhattan before moving here to Japan." York said, wriggling in his chair.

"So is that the story you're sticking to?"

"Yes it is, because it's true; whether you want to believe it or not the choice is up to you."

"Why do you have this?" The man said, looking down at York.

"I was given that as a part of a job, if you must know." York said, his eyes shifting to his Driver.

"That job?" The older man said, placing the Sengoku Driver on the desk in front of him.

"Destroy the Inves. Eliminate them before they can spread their seeds of evil. That was my job."

"Then we seem to have a common goal." The man said, walking over to the chair and releasing the cuffs that had bind York to the chair. "Only one question… Why did you show up as an Overlord on our systems?"

York quickly looked at the older man and leapt back over the table, grabbing his Sengoku Driver.

"You're hiding something? One would only assume from a reaction like that."

"Nope, just thought you might try something. Especially after calling me an Inves."

"What's to say you weren't. You fought and summoned and Inves to your side. As you know only the Overlords can do that." The man said, his eyes shifting under his glasses.

"What if I told you anyone could?" York said, looking directly back at him. "Or perhaps only I can… Who knows… I don't have anything to hide. My name is York."

"Gendo Ikari. Tell me York, why do you fight?" Ikari said, looking over at the young man.

"Why do I fight? I don't know. Maybe to destroy the Inves, maybe not. To further my own interests, I don't know… All I know is that I will fight, all the way to my death." York said, images flashing in his mind of why he fights.

"I see. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Who?"

"I have a son. He's weak and unwilling to fight. It is the only chance for human survival. I saw the way you fought, and it was the relentlessness that even Rei has. She isn't the most sociable person, so I want you to make him fight. I can't replace him, so he will fight or face the consequences. I will guarantee you with what you need for living. Only if you do so."

York stood quiet for a moment. His mind raced to his friends and younger sister. They all fought, even if they didn't want to. Anger slipped into his calm demeanor before disappearing again.

"Sounds good, Ikari-san."

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 03

Chapter 03: The Burdens We Bear

* * *

York walked down one of the many halls within NERV headquarters. He was told to go one of the Rider testing areas, where this world's Armored Riders underwent tests, due to the unstable nature of their Sengoku Drivers. It was interesting to see such a world, where everything was completely different from his own.

NERV was much like Yggdrasil in way, where there were many twists and turns within the building. He eventually made his way to the testing facility. Scanning a newly issued ID card, York entered the room. There was not much in the actual room. It lacked any real aesthetics, with only a small setup of computers in the middle of the room and several wires and other life recording systems for the human. There were other computers lining the walls, with people stationed at them, but York could not figure out what they were for.

"Ah, so you've arrived." A voice said, upon noticing York's arrival. It was an older man, wearing a lab coat. He seemed to be the head of the operation. York did a double take for a moment. York would have spit out what he was drinking, if he had anything in his mouth. The man in question was none other than Ryoma Sengoku, silver highlight and all.

"You must be Ryoma Sengoku." York said, walking toward the older man. The two shook hands, as Ryoma turned around and began to walk.

"Seems like you've been filled in, even to my name. Anyway, welcome to my lair." Sengoku said, walking York toward the main computers. "It's interesting that you'd have something like a Sengoku Driver, especially a personal one, considering they are my own creation. Of course we did send plans to other countries, including the US, so it doesn't surprise me that someone might end up with a personal Driver."

"Yeah it's strange how the world works sometimes. So I was told I'd be meeting with some kid, Shinji." York said, following behind the scientist.

"Yes, in due time. First, I'd like to test your synchronization rates with your Sengoku Driver. I'd like to see how well you fare when fighting before sending you out into the field to fight the Inves." Ryoma said, sitting down at his computer where two other scientists sat next to him. "Now if you would."

York was walked by a couple of scientists to the testing area. Several recording devices were attached to his body, most likely to measure his synchronization rates. He attached his Sengoku Driver to his waist to begin the process.

"Very well, York-san, would you mind beginning your transformation now?" Ryoma said, ready to initiate the test.

"Got you, let's do it." York said removing the Cherry Lockseed and unlocking it.

**Cherry!**

A crack unzipped above the young man's head, and a large cherry dropped out of it.

"An artificial crack has opened sir."

"What? That's impossible, at least by today's standards." Ryoma said, looking at his computer intensely. It would be impossible to open a crack, since the Inves already infested their world.

"**Henshin**." York said, placing the Lockseed onto his driver and locking it into place, and hitting the Cutting Blade once.

**Lock On! Come On! Cherry Arms! **_**Right to Oblivion**_**!**

The cherry dropped onto York's head, forming the armor and breaking apart to reveal the helmet. It then snapped into place, with a flash of red light. York simply stood there and listened to the scientist's remarks.

"Everything seems stable sir."

"His heart rate is normal."

"Sync rates are above average sir."

"Above average you say? Interesting, no trooper nor Rei have that high, considering she is the average." Ryoma mumbled, placing his hands in front of his lips. "Alright, York would you mind switching Lockseeds, we know you have other ones."

"Okay then, if it's necessary." York said, just wanting to get the test over with. He placed his hand on the belt and removed the Rider Indicator, and replaced it with the Genesis Core. This caused the Cherry Lockseed to retract and close, before unlocking itself from the Driver. York pulled a clear colored Lockseed from his belt.

"What is that?"

"Shh, let's just watch this mysterious boy and his mysterious toys." Ryoma said, mesmerized by the clear Lockseed and Genesis Core.

**Lemon Energy!**

York attached the Lockseed to the Genesis Core and locked both Lockseeds into place. Another artificial crack was opened, with a lemon like fruit dropping out this time. Ryoma looked at his computer to see incredible energy from this fruit.

**Lock On!**

The cherry armored folded back into its original form before shooting up into the sky toward the lemon, before the two hit each other, causing a flash. The yellow-red armor fell onto York's head to form a second armor, one that looked like what a SWAT team member would wear.

**Come On! Mix! Jimber Lemon! Ha-Ha!**

"There's been an incredible spike in his sync rate."

"His power levels are off the chart, it's incredibly powerful."

"I've never seen anything like this. I wonder if there would be a way to better harness that energy…." Ryoma said, before looking back up at the Rider. "You're good to go, York-san."

York undid his transformation and quickly put his shirt and coat back on. Ryoma walked up to him.

"Incredible, I've never seen such synchronization with a Driver on that scale. And that Lockseed you have, the Lemon one, was incredible."

"I guess it is. Nothing too special, just an Energy Lockseed."

"Interesting, so how exactly did you acquire this? Did you pick it from a fruit?" Ryoma asked.

"It's an artificial Lockseed. It only works with this supplementary device." York said, showing him the Genesis Core.

"While you go out to train, would you mind lending me these two to study? We might stand a greater chance if you allow me to try and make more of these." Ryoma said, looking at the yellow Lockseed with a child like wonder.

York smiled a little. It reminded him of his world's Ryoma when he tested the Energy Lockseeds for the first time. "Yeah, if it helps out in the battle against the Inves. Just don't break it, okay?"

"You don't have anything to worry about. If you go down the hall toward Room 3BD, Shinji should be there already." Ryoma said, pointing down the hallway. York nodded and left the older man with the Core and Lockseed. "Incredible power…"

York headed down toward the room and entered it. It seemed like a big enough room and reminded him of the training room at his HQ. An older woman, looked like she was in her late twenties stood there with a young boy. York recognized the boy as the one he had seen outside during the invasion.

"You must be York." The woman walked up to York. "I'm Misato Katsuragi, the operations director here at NERV."

"Nice to meet you." The two shook hands, which had become York's habit as of late. "I'll take good care of this kid, don't worry. I'll put him into tip-top shape."

"Commander Ikari said you'd be doing this to help Shinji. Just don't do anything to harsh on him, okay?" She winked and left the room, leaving York with a small blush from the older woman. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and went up to the other person in the room.

"Shinji? We're going to train here, all right? You're going to need to learn how to fight the Inves, and if necessary other Riders understand?" York said, looking at the younger boy.

"I'm not sure if I want to fight though. I mean… My father pulled me in here without him telling me what he expected of me. They already have that girl, you, and those black armored foot soldiers. So why do they need me?" Shinji said, turning around. "I don't need to fight, so I won't. I already told Misato-san that, but she brought me here anyway."

York sighed, irritated at the boy. "You are going to fight whether you like it or not, Shinji. If you won't fight now, I'll make you fight."

"You can't make me fight, I just won't transform again. Last time I couldn't even remember what I did after I transformed. I just woke up in the damn white room." Shinji said, remembering his post battle with the Inves.

"I can make you fight. It's actually really simple." York said, removing a Kurumi Lockseed from his pocket and unlocking it. A crack appeared in the air and an Elementary Inves jumped through it.

**BATTLE START**

"You're going to transform and fight the Inves, or get infected by it. Inves attack!" York said, pointing at Shinji. The creature made a squealing sound before charging at Shinji. Shinji dodged out of the way before yelling at York.

"What is this? How are you attack me with an Inves?" Shinji yelled, running out of the path of the charging Inves before hesitantly putting his driver on.

"It's a magic trick, I can control it with this." York said, showing the unlocked Lockseed. "You'll fight until you defeat it."

Shinji looked at the older man and back the Inves, who started to charge again. He gritted his teeth before taking out the Orange Lockseed.

**Orange!**

An orange suddenly materialized above Shinji's head.

"**Henshin.**" Shinji said, placing the Lockseed onto the driver hitting the blade once.

**Soiya! Orange Arms! **_**Hanamichi On Stage**_**!**

The orange fell onto Shinji, forming the armor and splitting apart to reveal Gaim once again. Gaim yelled as he charged at the Inves with his sword. The sword collided with the monster's head, causing it grab itself in pain. It squealed as it leapt into the air and struck at Gaim.

"Damn Inves!" Gaim said, smashing the Inves over the head. His recklessness left an opening and the Inves took it by clawing him in the abdomen. Gaim fell back before striking the Inves once more; he took the Musou Saber and shoved it into the face of the Inves and pulled the trigger. Several bullets made their way into the Elementary's face. Again, it made painful noises.

"That's enough of that for now." York said, locking the Lockseed. The Inves took to the crack and jumped through it.

"Why'd you do that? I almost had it." Gaim said, turning around.

"The poor Inves wasn't attacking anyone of its own free will. It's like an animal, and I forced it to fight you. I saw you were capable of brutally fighting an animal but how about someone like me?" York said, re-unlocking the Kurumi Lockseed.

**Kurumi!**

"**Henshin.**" York said, doing the proper maneuvers and locking it into place before hitting the blade.

**Come On! Kurumi Arms! **_**Mister Knuckleman**_**!**

The walnut fell onto York's head before splitting armor apart. The weapons this time were a pair of large boxing gloves. York ran toward Shinji and punched him in the stomach, causing him to hit the wall.

"What are you doing? Don't attack me!" Gaim said, trying to get back up from the punch.

"It's called sparring, kid. This is how I'll train you to fight like a normal person. We can't have you raging like a bull at other people." Courtright said, moving slowly toward Gaim.

Gaim got back up and ran at Courtright. He struck with his Daidaimaru, but the large gloves on Courtright made them useless when he blocked. With one mighty punch, Courtright sent Gaim flying at the wall once again.

"Come on Shinji. Fight, I'll even switch out to something with a bit less of a punch if that helps." York said, removing the Kurumi Lockseed and replacing it with his signature one.

**Cherry Arms! **_**Right to Oblivion**_**!**

Courtright ran at Gaim and the two clashed. This time on a more even level, with Gaim fighting with his swords and Courtright with his guns. Gaim couldn't help but notice how powerful of a fighter he was, even without the gloves. He moved quickly and was seemingly always hitting his mark.

Gaim jumped into the air and attempted to hit Courtright over the head with his swords. As if on cue, Courtright turned around and shot Gaim out of the air. He quickly jumped into the air and kicked Shinji down to the ground.

Courtright removed the Cherry Lockseed and placed it onto his revolver. He spun the chamber around, activating the gun's finale.

**1-2-3-4-5-6**

**CHERRY SHOT**

Courtright took aim at Shinji and six shots rang out, each targeting Gaim. Each made contact with him, causing six small explosions to ring out. It had enough power to cancel Shinji's transformation. Shinji attempted to get up, but was tired and weakened from his beating.

"We'll be doing this again tomorrow, okay?" York said, closing his Lockseed. He turned around and leaving the room, leaving Shinji alone in the blank training room.

"_Gendo was right, that boy needed a good beating. It'll be a while before he's even half-boiled._.' York thought.

**(In an Alternate Universe)**

"Achoo!" A certain detective sneezed.

"Shinji, is everything alright?" His partner, Rei, asked.

"Yeah, but why do I have the feeling that I should stay away from cherries for a while?" he said.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N**: For anyone wondering where the last part comes from. Go check out my friend, Spartan719's story: Neon Genesis W.


	5. Chapter 04

Chapter 04: Endless Boundaries

* * *

"Beginning second test for prototype Genesis Driver." A voice over a loudspeaker said, ringing through the testing area.

York stood in with wires once again attached to his body. He was a bit nervous, as this driver was completely created here. The driver was attached to his waist and like usual, it was nearly a replica of the one built in his own world. The only difference was it utilized the Genesis Core that attached to his Sengoku Driver, and the Driver did not have an outer shell. It was a hastily thrown together driver.

"York, please attach the Energy Lockseed to begin the test." Ryoma said, readied at his computer for the test.

"If you're sure that sure about it…" York said, a bit disheartened by the man's efforts. The girl, Rei, had been injured in a test with the Sengoku Driver, which was much weaker than the Genesis Driver. He removed the newly created Cherry Energy Lockseed and unlocked it.

**Cherry Energy!**

"**Henshin**." York said, placing the Lockseed onto the Genesis Driver's bay. He then placed his hands on both side of the driver and pushed the juicer in toward the Lockseed.

**Lock On! Soda~ Cherry Energy Ar~~~!**

Above York the artificial crack had failed to open, releasing several volts of electricity toward the young man. It had failed to work once again, the electricity flowing into his veins, causing him immense pain.

"Stop the test! Forcefully unlock the Energy Lockseed." Ryoma said to the person next to him. The scientist nodded and forcefully unlocked the Energy Lockseed, leaving York struggling for air. Ryoma ran over to the younger man to check on him. The second test had failed yet again, and the energy that was supposed to open an artificial crack had gone in reverse.

"I'll be fine. That little shock was nothing compared to other things I've done." York said, putting his hand on his knee and forcing himself to stand on two legs.

"You've probably been through a lot. How's the training with the kid going?" Ryoma asked, helping York to the closest chair to rest in.

"Training has been getting better. He's been doing well since we started last week. Soon enough he'll be able to fight the Inves without going crazy." York looked down at his watch and sighed. "Just about time for another training session."

York got up from his chair and grabbed a single crutch, which he placed under his arm and limped down the hallway toward the training room. As much as he hated to admit it, the two failed tests have done a number to his leg. The feedback has caused an above average amount of damage to the young man's limb. Unlocking the door, the young man walked in, his Sengoku Driver attached to his waist.

"Oh sensei, you're here." Shinji said, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. He ran up to the older man. "More testing?"

"Yeah, a lot more." York said, placing the crutch up next to the wall. He sat down and removed a small case from his pocket. Within it were a small syringe and a tube filled with medicine. He plunged it into his leg and injected it into the limb. "Alright, I should be good to go." York hopped up from the ground and bent his legs, rearing to go.

"You're always willing to go for it, aren't you sensei?" Shinji said, having gained a great appreciation for the older man in the past week. It started off rough, but as Shinji learned to fight the two started to become friends. Rei was still out of commission, due to the previous fight with the Inves straining her already hurt body.

"I guess I am. Never know when you'll be needed for something, whether it be training or Inves." York said, removing his Sengoku Driver. "Ready to get to work?"

Shinji couldn't reply, as the sudden blaring of alarms cut off his thoughts. He turned around to see York starting toward the door.

"Come on Shinji! We got work to do." York said, bellowing Shinji toward the door. Shinji smiled. This time it would be different.

York led Shinji down to the main office of the corporation. Katsuragi shortly briefed the two about the operation.

"An Overlord has popped up again near the forest on the far side of the city." She said, showing the map of where the monster most probably was.

"Is it the same one from before?" York said, looking at the area on the map.

"It has the same readings as before, and we have reason to believe its spreading the Helheim within the forest in order to better conceal itself."

"Well looks like we know what we have to do then." York said, sighing for a moment.

"If you both are ready, then we will begin the operation." Katsuragi turned around and the two left.

The two were launched from a different launching area, somewhere closer to the forest than the last. The two received most of their orders silently, and by the time they arrived near outside of the forest was when they began to speak to each other again.

"She sure is different when something's on the line." York said, walking down the cleared path.

"I would never have guessed th-." York was cut off by the sudden appearance of some Elementary Inves. "Oh great just what I wanted to do right this second in time."

"Sensei do you have to complain about this? It is our job after all." Shinji said, removing his Sengoku Driver.

"Yes I do, because I don't know how long we can hold out against these things before fighting an Overlord." York said, removing his Cherry Lockseed from his pocket. Shinji did the same with his own Lockseed, and they both unlocked their individual Locks.

**Cherry!**

**Orange!**

"**Henshin!**" The two said simultaneously, placing the Lockseeds onto the Driver and using the Cutting Blade to slice them open.

**Come On! Cherry Arms! Right to Oblivion!**

**Soiya! Orange Arms! Hanamichi On Stage!**

"Let's get to work." Courtright said, pulling his revolvers out and shooting at the Inves.

Gaim nodded and joined in the battle with his swords. He had greatly improved since the last Inves attack, and it was mostly due to York's training. It was tough, but Gaim noticed that it payed out in the long run. He was no longer tiring out from the constant fighting with the Inves.

Courtright leapt into the air and kicked at one of the raging Inves, his foot ramming into its head. It screeched in pain before running back into the forest. Another gun shot rang from his gun, and more of the Inves packed up and ran back into the spreading forest.

Gaim did much of the same, striking at an Inves and then allowing that Inves to run back off into the forest.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Gaim said, putting his weapon down for the moment.

"I suppose we need to find the Overlord responsible for all of this. If we can get it to retreat, then we can stop the forest from spreading." Courtright said, holstering his guns.

"Why retreat? The operation is to destroy the Overlord." Gaim said, walking alongside Courtright.

"Right now, we may not be powerful enough to defeat the Overlord. Overlords are powerful, and even the most trained Rider can be easily defeated if their raw power isn't enough." Courtright said, recalling the earlier incident with his world's Overlord. He shuddered at the thought, remembering the pain he received from one strike to the neck.

The two made small talk after that, Gaim not dear asking about the tone in Courtright's voice when he mentioned the Overlord. Gaim could only wonder if he had fought the Overlords before, due to his knowledge of their power.

Suddenly the older Rider's hand stopped Gaim.

"Stop. Let's go over here." Courtright said, leading Gaim to the bushes on a similar hill area.

"Wait why? What is it?" Gaim said, sitting down in the bush.

"That down there. I remember this place, it's the stomping grounds for an Overlord." Courtright said, sticking his head out of the bush. "I don't see one right this second, though. You stay here, I'll call you down once I've scouted the area."

Gaim nodded, due to the sudden concern in the other man's voice. Courtright quickly got out of the bush and began to make his way down the hill, looking forward and back around him. There was nothing to be concerned about. He sighed and walked near a small cave-like area. At that point Courtright knew something was wrong. Footsteps began to ring out, echoing in the small area.

"Gai smi no ra jai no kao." The footsteps owner said, a sword being dragged on the ground. The voice belonged to Courtright's worst nightmare. He slowly turned around to see crimson armor before him.

"Deemushu…"

"Eh?"

Courtright slowly backed away in fear. The large crimson Inves slowly walked toward him, sword in hand.

"Name. How know my name?"

To be continued….

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I've been having some writers block and this was hard to get done. It's short, but it leads to the next chapter which I promise will be longer than other chapters.**


	6. Chapter 05

Chapter 05 : Ancient Boundaries

* * *

"Does it matter how I know your name?" Courtright said, cowering back a little from the Overlord.

"Grai nah jiri kon mai do." The Overlord said, moving at Courtright with his sword. He swung at Courtright who immediately dodged out of the way.

"I don't want to fight you. I just want you to leave this area now." Courtright said, taking his guns and placing them in front of him. Demushu grunted and began to walk toward the red colored Rider.

"Gai ro kech lymh ha na!" The crimson Overlord held his hand up in the air and shot a ball of fire at the cowering Rider. The size of the ball was too large, and struck Courtright directly in his chest.

Gaim could only watch from above as the Overlord swept the floor with the older Rider. He knew that two Riders wouldn't make much of a difference in a fight like this, but he couldn't just sit there. Looking over his shoulder he spotted fruit of the forest and quickly grabbed one, and like it did a while ago, turning it into a non-Himawari Lockseed. The Lockseed was red and had a pepper imprinted on it.

"He trained me, but I don't think we can win against him like this. That Overlord is too powerful, but I can't leave him down there by himself." Gaim said to himself, clutching the Pepper Lockseed. "I have to help him." Gaim grabbed another fruit and watched as it turned into an Ichigo Lockseed.

Demushu continued to strike at Courtright, who retaliated with shots from his dual revolvers. The guns didn't do much as the bullets bounced right off of the Overlord's armor. Neither of them noticed as Gaim ran down the hill. He was about to stop and help his instructor, but stopped as he heard them speak.

"Koir no mi was nefem nori na da?" Demushu said, holding his sword at Courtright's neck.

"Kame ri ja va, korqua no jaka mi ya." Courtright said, in the language of the Overlord. Quickly, Courtright hit the Cutting Blade on his Sengoku Driver twice.

**Cherry AU LAIT**

The guns that Courtright held began to glow red, before both guns went off forcing Demushu off of Courtright. He turned to see Gaim.

"Shinji, get out of here!" Courtright said, running toward the younger Rider. "You can't stay here. He'll crush us both."

"I know, but I needed to give you this." Gaim said, showing him the two Lockseeds.

"Thanks kid. I think I'll take this one. You use the other one; we might be able to get him to flee." Courtright said, taking the Pepper Lockseed, leaving Gaim with the Ichigo Lockseed.

"Alright let's do this!" Gaim said, taking the Orange Lockseed off of his Driver and replacing it. Courtright did the same with his own Lockseed. Two pieces of food appeared in the sky, as the sounds of horns went off.

"You dare stand against me?" Demushu said, slowly walking toward the two Riders.

"Yeah we do." Courtright said, hitting the Cutting Blade. Gaim did the same as the older man.

**Pepper Arms! Bring the Pain!**

**Ichigo Arms! Shushutto Spark!**

The pepper crashed onto Courtright's head, and the armor unfolded. In Courtright's hand appeared a large sword, which could split apart at the hinges to form a whip. The strawberry above Gaim did the same and equipped him with kunai.

"Time to show you whose boss, Overlord!" Gaim said, leaping into the air and throwing several kunai at the Overlord. Demushu grunted and swung his sword to block the attack.

Gaim summoned more kunai and began to strike at the Overlord. Courtright jumped over Gaim's back and struck at Demushu's arm, causing him to drop his sword.

"INSOLENCE!" Demushu said throwing several more balls of fire at the two. The two dodged out of the way, with Gaim leaping into the air and throwing several more kunai at him. Demushu picked up his sword and blocked the throwing daggers.

"Weak." Demushu said, not seeing the charging Courtright who struck the Overlord in the chest with his sword. Sparks flew as the steel collided with the creature's natural armor.

"You insolent fool." Demushu said, grabbing Courtright's sword.

"Gi no va." Courtright said, causing Demushu to overflow with rage. Courtright pressed a small switch, breaking the blade into several parts, connected by a chain. He swung it around both of them, chaining them together. "Ki no va, ja?" The Overlord roared attempting to break free. Courtright hit the Cutting Blade three times.

**Cherry Sparking**

Gaim watched as the chain began to glow unnaturally red, as if the chain began to heat up. The Overlord and Courtright began to yell out in pain as it got hotter. Gaim ran, but stopped as the heat intensified near them. Eventually, the heat broke through Courtright's armor, causing his transformation to cancel.

With the chain gone, Demushu grunted as he walked away from the two humans. Shinji's transformation cancelled as he ran up to the collapsed York. York's back was covered in burns from the metal chain. He turned York over to his back, only to see a gruesome sight. York's face was covered in blood and his torso was covered in bruises.

York's eyes fluttered open. He grabbed onto Shinji and attempted to get up.

"Don't try to get up Sensei. He really did a number on you." Shinji said, looking at the bloody man.

York gave a weak smile.

"Look at the forest. It's retreating. We did it, for now at least. Go get help Shinji, I can't do it." York collapsed back to the ground, his mind clouded.

…

_ "Just who do you think you are?" Takatora said, attempting to get up from the ground. Ryoma grabbed ahold of a pipe and ran at the Golden Armored Rider. The Rider turned around and smacked Ryoma down with his shield._

_ "The creator of my Sengoku Driver…. Why are you so weak? Why must I be surrounded here by a group of weaklings? Where is the red one?"_

_ "We can't let him get to York." Ryoma said, getting back to his feet and running at the Golden Armored Rider. He removed his Lemon Energy Lockseed and Genesis Driver from his pocket._

_**"Henshin!" **__Ryoma said, placing the Lockseed onto the Driver._

_**Soda~ Lemon Energy Arms! Fight, Power! Fight, Power! Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi-Fight!**_

_Duke swung his Sonic Arrow at the Golden Armored Rider and gained his attention._

_ "So it seems one of us has the balls to fight, just like little Mr. Red." The Golden Armored Rider said, swinging his sword at Duke. The bladed bow collided with the sword and Duke took the chance to kick him in the torso._

_ "Can't let that happen Malus. He's very important, and we cannot just let you have your grimy hands on him." Duke said, pulling back on the Sonic Arrow's bow and released, causing an arrow to hit Malus in the chest._

_ Takatora got up and ran down the corridor. He quickly made his way to Room 703, where York was being treated. The young American was sitting peacefully, reading a book. He looked up to see Takatora._

_ "Yo Takatora, what's up?" York said, putting his book down._

_ "Malus is what's up. He got out and is laying siege trying to find you." Takatora said, removing the medical equipment that was hooked up to York. It had only been two weeks since Demushu had nearly killed the Rider, and he was still recovering._

_ "Why does he want me?"_

_ "I don't know, but I do know he's up to something. Let's get you out of here." Takatora handed York his crutches and helped him up from the bed._

_ The two began to walk out when Takatora noticed Malus walking down the hallway._

_ "There he is! Thanks for bringing him out Takatora!" Malus said, as he placed the sword into the sheath on the shield._

_ "Like hell I'll let you take him." Takatora said, removing his own Driver and Lockseed. "York find your sister and get out of here."_

_ York nodded and began to slowly make his way down the hallway. Duke appeared from behind and joined Zangetsu-Shin. York could hear as Malus collided with his two superiors. He didn't want to look back._

_ "I have to find Mei… We have to get out of here."_

…

York opened his eyes to see a white ceiling above him. He looked around to see the bleak whiteness of the room. He sighed and looked to his right. In the bed was his roommate, Rei. She was slowly recovering from her own experiments as well. She reminded him of his little sister.

"You are not from here." Rei said, blankly looking at him from her bed.

"True. I'm not from around here. I don't even want to be here." York said, realizing his legs and his right arm were casted. He sighed. "Do you want to be here, Ayanami?"

"Please further explain." She emotionlessly responded, looking back at the ceiling.

"I mean this place. I just don't know, especially after what happened with that Ovelord. It was the same one…" York said, fear obvious in his voice. Rei looked back at him, noticing the change in his tone.

"Same one? You have encountered that Overlord previously?"

"Yes I have. I fought him with another Rider. He beat me in one attack; hit me in the neck with the blunt side of his sword. I fell immediately after that. I thought I'd never see him again, at least here." York said, turning his head to the ceiling as well.

"You are not powerful then." Rei said, her back rising up. She got up from her bed and walked over to York's. She looked down at him. "You hide something. I can see it."

"Maybe I do. I'm just really tired, Ayanami."

"You intrigue me."

"Really now, I'm not surprised though. I give off that kind of feeling don't I?" York sat up, pain running through his back.

"We must rest, soon we will be recovered and back to testing." Rei said, moving back to her bed and laying down.

"What kind of tests are they running on you?" York said, moving back his position on the bed.

"The same one they are putting onto you, the Genesis Project." Rei said, her tone slightly shifting.

"Yeah, I would think the same about it too. My fault for giving Ryoma the idea, but it's my own fault as well." York said, remembering his giving the Lockseed and Core to the scientist.

"What is your goal, York?"

"My goal is to get back home. People are there fighting, just like here. You actually remind me of a couple of people."

"I see…"

"I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight Ayanami."

"Goodnight."

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I wanted to get this out quick, and I have had a lot of personal issues right now. Hopefully, I'll have more chapters up once school is over.**


	7. Chapter 06

Chapter 06: A Word to the Wise

* * *

"It seems as though things are going a bit off schedule, Ikari." Ryoma said, looking down at his clipboard.

"What makes you say that, Sengoku?" Genji Ikari said, walking back toward his desk.

"We have three Armored Riders, with our two competent fighters down for the count. Rider 00 Zangetsu and Rider X Courtright are both unfit for duty. That leaves your son, Rider 02 Gaim, as our last line of defense against the Helheim. No offense to you or your son, but he's weak; a lot weaker than Rei or York." Ryoma said, placing the clipboard down and taking out his laptop. He opened it and showed Ikari the data of the three Riders.

"That may be true, but he will fight. Until those two recover fully, he will fight. Whether he wants to or not." Ikari said, the dim lights making him look menacing. "What are the developments on Project Genesis?"

"Well we're working on tweaking it until it can run at its full capacity. With York out of commission we can only work with Rei now, but even then we're pushing it with her. Her recovery time will keep increasing if we continue experiments with the Genesis Driver. For now we'll work toward making it functional for the user."

"Sounds good, what about Rider 01?"

"I completely forgot. Germany has sent her data as well; allow me to bring it up." Ryoma looked around on his hard drive and pulled up records on the new Rider.

"She arrives soon, correct?" Ikari asked, looking down at the bright computer screen.

"Yes she does. I believe within the week, according to the e-mails sent to me from our branch over in Germany." Ryoma looked at his computer again and nodded. "Yes she is scheduled to arrive by the end of the week."

"Good. She'll make up for Shinji's weaknesses. Now go."

"Yes sir." Ryoma got up from his seat and scuffled out of the room, laptop in tow.

Ryoma walked down the hallway back to his lab and sat down in his own personal chair. Sighing, he moved over to his data regarding the five Energy Lockseeds he had in development.

"These designs York sent are incredible. Lemon, Cherry, Peach, Melon, and Golden…. I wonder what this Golden one is all about; it doesn't seem to fit in with the rest." Ryoma said to himself. He looked over at the Lemon Energy Lockseed and the prototype Cherry. "One day these'll work and Helheim will be pushed back. It's the only thing we can do here, is creating and hoping.

Ryoma got up and sighed. He began to walk toward the testing area, Genesis Driver and Lemon Energy Lockseed in hand.

"If I have no one to test on, I best do it myself. It's the only way to get any work done…" Ryoma prepared to place the Driver on, when the alarms began to blare. "You must be kidding me. Right now?"

Ryoma ran to his computer and pulled up the map of the city. He looked around and noticed Inves readings over by the school where Shinji Ikari attended. "At least it's right there." He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Misato Katsuragi, Shinji's legal guardian.

"Katsuragi, it's me Ryoma. We have an Inves problem. It's right near Ikari's school, so he should be able to deal with it quickly." Ryoma said, typing in commands on his keyboard. Text flowed the screen in front of him as he attempted to begin gathering data from Shinji's Sengoku Driver.

* * *

Things couldn't be going worse for Shinji Ikari. Despite the fact that York was now recovering from severe wounds, he had to return to school after the whole Overlord ordeal. He was on duty 24/7 due to the fact that Inves could pop up whenever they wanted. To add insult to injury, if any Inves showed up, he would have to fight them alone.

"Yo Shinji!" a voice called out. Shinji turned around to see his two school friends, Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara. "You want to come hang out with us after school?"

"Why even ask, Toji? He'll probably just say no." Kensuke said, looking over to his friend.

"That's not true. Sure he says 'no' a lot, but that doesn't mean 'no' now, right?" Toji turned to look at Shinji's face. "Of course it is."

"I'm sorry guys; I just have other things to do." Shinji said, trying to think of an excuse.

"It's fine Shinji. As long as you come with us one of these da-!" Toji was cut off by the arrival of screaming. The trio of boys looked over to see several Elementary Inves marching toward the school.

"Inves here? But there's not forest following them." Kensuke said, pointing out something the others ignored.

"Come on we have to get out of here, now." Toji said, grabbing onto Shinji and Kensuke. Shinji panicked. He didn't know what to do. Then he realized there was no back up coming. Both York-sensei and the girl, Rei, were both in recovery. Shinji sighed and pulled away from Toji.

"Shinji?"

"It looks like I don't have a choice. You guys might want to stand back." Shinji said to himself, pulling out the Orange Lockseed. "**Henshin**!" He quickly placed the Lockseed onto the Driver Bay and hit the Cutting Blade. The other students could only watch as an orange appeared above Shinji.

**Lock On! Soiya! Orange Arms. Hanamichi on Stage! **

The orange crashed to Shinji's head, forming armor on his body, before splitting apart to form the Orange Arms armor. In his hand was a slice of orange in the form a sword.

"Time to show York-sensei what I can do, everyone else stay back!" Gaim said, as many of the other students ran away from the oncoming Inves. Toji and Kensuke stayed back to watch.

"So that thing can fight against the Inves?" Kensuke said, moving his glasses closer to his face.

"It's incredible. I didn't know humanity had such a thing, besides the bombs." Toji said, as he and Kensuke hid behind a tree.

Gaim took his Musou Saber out from his belt and ran at the Inves. His swords began to collide with the Elementary creatures.

The first of the Elementary Inves screeched as it leapt into the air and struck at Gaim, causing him to fall. Gaim quickly threw the Daidaimaru at it, causing it to lodge in the armor on the creature. Gaim got up and quickly ran to retrieve the sword. Two more Inves quickly ran up to Gaim and began to strike at him.

"Three-on-one, that's not fair." Gaim said, attempting to get the Inves off of him. The tan creatures then stopped focusing on Gaim and looked over at the two boys standing behind the tree. Two of the three charged forward, while the third stayed behind to fight it out with Gaim. "That's definitely not fair."

Gaim pulled the trigger on his side arm and shot at the Inves, blowing it away from him. He turned around and ran at the other two, shooting at them as well. The bullets exploded on impact, causing them to screech in pain. They turned around quickly began to charge Gaim. It was an unfair fight.

The three Inves took clean shots at the samurai. Gaim couldn't get them off of him. He grunted and combined his two weapons into a naginata type weapon.

"I can't let them see me like this. I need to fight no matter what!" Gaim yelled as he charged the Inves, striking at them with his weapon causing sparks to fly off of the metal. "Time to finish this!" Gaim took the Orange Lockseed off of his belt and onto the sword.

**Lock On! 1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000! Orange Charge!**

The naginata began to glow orange as he spun around, causing the image of an orange to appear. The Inves within range roared in pain, as the energy from the sword tore their insides apart. Gaim stopped as the two Inves stopped moving and burst into flames, turning into ash.

"Looks like that's it for now…" Gaim said, not realizing the third Inves sneaking up behind him.

"Shinji watch out!" Toji yelled out, warning his friend of the imminent danger. Gaim turned too slowly, and the Inves jumped at Gaim's side. It grabbed onto the Ichigo Lockseed and ripped it off of the belt's holder. It looked at it for a moment, before consuming it.

"No my Lockseed!" Gaim said, watching as the Inves ate it. The creature looked confused for a moment before glowing red. Suddenly, the Inves became completely different and took on the form of a deer, much to the confusion of Gaim, Toji and Kensuke. "A giant deer?"

The creature did not make any noises as it punched Gaim in the torso, causing him to fly back at the school's wall.

"Shinji!" the two boys said simultaneously. They ran over to their friend. "You okay?"

"I think so…" Gaim said, attempting to get back on his feet. The trio looked forward to see the Deer Inves closing in on them. "I have to fight." Gaim slowly got back up and ran at the Deer Inves, which quickly jump kicked him in the head. He once again fell to the ground.

"Looks like this is it, Toji, Shinji… It was nice knowing you." Kensuke said, fearing the impending doom of the large blue Inves.

"Same to you." Toji said, preparing to be blown into tomorrow by the creature. Suddenly, the creature stopped moving. All of their eyes slowly moved down to see a large lance piercing the body of the Inves. It roared out as the lance lifted it up and threw it over the users head.

The three boys looked in front of them to see another Rider. This one had a more feminine shape on her base armor, with what appeared to be a large banana over her chest. She had a more European feel, as opposed to the Japanese appearances of Gaim and Zangetsu and the American design of Courtright. She looked down at Gaim for a moment before reengaging with the Deer Inves.

The lance collided with the weakened Inves' head, causing it to fall to the ground. The red Rider looked down at the creature before laughing out loud.

"You got beat by this thing? You're supposed to be a Rider, but you can't even take out a Berserker? Looks like I came to save your ass right in time." The girl said, aiming her words at Gaim. "Let me finish this."

She looked at the Inves once more and hit the Cutting Blade on her Sengoku Driver twice.

**Banana AU LAIT**

She threw the lance on the ground and used it as a point to jump off of. Throwing her leg out in front, she flew to the ground with yellow energy charging in her foot. She collided directly with the Deer Inves, causing it to explode on contact.

The smoke cleared revealing the red Armored Rider once again. She laughed for a moment before closing the Lockseed on her Driver, cancelling the transformation. The girl who stood was definitely not Japanese. She had long orange hair and a slender, but muscular physique. She was beautiful and powerful. She walked over to the now untransformed Shinji, whom had gotten up and walked toward her.

"Looks like I got myself a new little punching bag." She said simply, before turning around and walking toward the city.

* * *

York awoke from his slumber and looked around the dark room. His dreams had once again wandered to Malus. He shook for a moment, remembering the evil Golden Armored Rider.

"Something's going to happen… I can just feel it."

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 07

Chapter 07: The Haunting Past

* * *

_(Some time ago...)_

_The storms clouds had just begun to roll in to the city. York took a look outside from his office and sighed._

"_Can the weather ever be nice for once?" York said to himself, looking at the ominous clouds in the sky. The door opened behind him, revealing his boss, Takatora Kureshima._

_"One of these days it might. I like when it rains though, makes the world seem all the more beautiful." Takatora said, closing the door behind him and walking to the younger man. "So how's the report coming?"_

_"Not so good, not so good actually; reports from the lab indicate rises in cracks between here and the Helheim. I don't like those numbers, Kureshima-san." York said, handing the folder containing the data to his boss._

_"Very well, any reports on his whereabouts?" Takatora said, grabbing the folder._

_"Not yet, ever since Kogane-san's last trek into the Helheim, nobody has seen him. I'm a bit worried." York said, turning around and looking out at the clouds._

_"He was a good man, but I don't think he'll be coming back out. Not only that, but we lost his Sengoku Driver as well. It's a shame that we lost both of them…" Takatora said, walking next to him._

_York sighed once again and looked at Takatora._

_"Are we going back to the forest? To fight those Overlord Inves we discovered, I mean." York said, seemingly staring off into the space behind Takatora._

_"Most likely we will. They may be the key to ending the Helheim's invasion into our world. It is the only option that does not end in despair." Takatora said, looking down at the city below them._

_"I think it would be best if we went sooner than later, you know? Just you and I going in." York said, going to his desk and opening it._

_"Just us? What about your sister? No offense to you, but she is more powerful than you. She would be a great help if she were to come along." Takatora said, looking down at York, who was removing his Sengoku Driver from the desk._

_"I don't think it'll be that bad. We can take out one Overlord probably. Two Riders are stronger than one." York said, picking up the Driver and placing it in his coat's pocket. "I'm ready to go when you are."_

_"If you're sure about this, meet me down at the crack in the lab." Takatora said, patting York's shoulder and walking out of the room. York looked back out at the clouds one last time._

_"I have a feeling things are going to go wrong." York said, leaving the room without looking back._

* * *

_"Ga shime kor ma na de kaq!" The voice of the Inves thundered as its sword made contact with Courtright's neck, causing him to immediately fall to the ground in pain. Zangetsu looked over for a split second before being struck in the chest with the same sword._

_"Damn you, Inves!" Zangetsu quickly pulled the back of his bow, causing it to sound, before releasing it causing it to shoot out several arrows of energy at the Inves. These seemed to do the trick, hitting him several times, with the armor of the Inves beginning to smoke. It grabbed its arm in pain; it angrily looked at Zangetsu._

_"Deemushu! Kai ni ra sai go ran? Gai sen no Roshu!" A new voice rang out. The Inves, apparently having the name Deemushu looked at the two Riders angrily._

_"Shime! Kor a gas me wo!" Deemushu said, putting his arm up in the air. Several other Elementary Inves appeared, as he slipped by the closest crevice._

_"I don't have time for this." Zangetsu looked down at his partner, who was not moving. "Damn Inves." The several Inves made noises as they came running toward the two._

_Zangetsu readied his bow, as several pink colored arrows rained down on the Elementaries. He looked up to the sky and noticed a short pink armored Rider sitting in the tree. She leapt down and looked at the taller man._

_"You… Why are you here?" Zangetsu said, looking down at the pink Rider._

_"I knew I couldn't leave big brother in your care." She said in reply, kneeling down and looking at the red Rider. "He's such a fragile person, yet you couldn't protect him… That's why I followed you here." She looked at the Inves and pulled off her Lockseed before putting it onto her Sonic Arrow._

_**Lock On! Peach Energy!**_

_The tip of the arrow charged an incredible amount of energy before being released and shot at the Inves, causing the blast to destroy all of them._

_"Now shall we go?" She walked over and with incredible strength, picked up the limp body of her older brother. Zangetsu could only look at her with a look of fear._

_"Something's not right with that girl." He said to himself, as he walked behind her, not looking back once at the sight of the monstrous Inves._

* * *

_The young girl dumped the older man on the floor of the lab._

_"Come on big brother get up." She said, looking down at the collapsed Rider. He wasn't moving. She closed the Peach Energy Lockseed, cancelling her transformation. The girl was young, only about thirteen, but still one of the more powerful Riders. Takatora entered from the crack as well, looking down at the collapsed York._

_"Damn it." Takatora said, quickly kneeling down and put his fingers on York's neck. "That's not good; he's got almost no pulse. Mei go get the paramedics."_

_"What? What do you mean by that? He's going to be okay, right?" She quickly moved down to the older boy's body and shook him. He didn't move. She did it again, and yet she got nothing._

_"Damn it. That damned Overlord… You stay here with him; I'll go get the paramedics." Takatora got up and quickly moved to stairs._

_"Come on big brother, wake up." Mei said, shaking the unmoving body of the American. She only cared for him, and she continued to shake him. "You can't die… Wake up… You're just playing around right?" She continued to shake him, as the paramedics entered the lab. They had to physically move her to get her off of him._

_"Come on Mei, we need to let the doctors have him." Takatora said, looking at the young girl. She only replied with the most hateful look she could muster._

_"You're supposed to be the best fighter here. And you let that thing do that to him?" Mei said, her voice full of spite._

_"The Overlord was too powerful, I couldn't do anything. He used the smoke from our weapons to hide himself, and then he struck York down. I couldn't save him. He's lucky he lived through that, if it wasn't for his Rider suit I guarantee his neck would have been shattered." Takatora said, looking down at the young girl. York was her only family, and even he knew she'd be broken more than she already is if he died._

_"Says you, you could have saved him." Mei said, turning around and marching into the forest._

_"Where do you think you're going?" Takatora said, his voice becoming firm._

_"I'm going to find that Overlord you were talking about. I'm going to go kill it and rip its goddamn eyes out. He's going to pay for hurting my big brother like that." Mei took out her Peach Energy Lockseed and unlocked it and placed it on her Driver._

_**Lock On. Soda! Peach Energy Arms!**_

_The peach dropped from the ceiling and attached itself to her body, forming the base armor and unfolding for the chest armor. The Sonic Arrow appeared in her hands and she began to walk into the forest once again._

_"You're going in there then?" Takatora said, looking at Marika._

_"Yes I am, and no one will stop me." Marika said, walking through the crack. Takatora didn't stop her, knowing she just needed to vent._

_"I need to go check on him." Takatora sighed, moving out of the lab._

* * *

York stood looking out the window of the hospital room, now in a wheelchair while his legs healed. The clouds had begun to roll in, dark and ominous.

"This feeling, why do I feel like this again…" York said to himself, looking out at the clouds.

"What do you mean?" Rei said, looking out the same window.

"I felt like this some time ago… I felt like something was going to happen. Something terrible, and now I can feel it. He's coming for me…"

"Who is?" Rei asked, her voice piking interest.

"Kogane… I know he's coming for me. He'd kill just about anyone to find me. And I'm scared." York said, wheeling himself to Rei's bedside.

"Kogane?"

"A monster… He's coming for me, I know it. I'm not just paranoid… I'm not…" York said, his mind wandering back once again.

* * *

_"Kogane, why are you doing this?" York said, backing up to the wall. His Driver dropped to the ground, but he was too weak to grab it._

_"I have no choice York. It's nothing against you personally. I wish there was another way for this to go down." Kogane said, walking toward him. "I just want what you have." Kogane grinned and removed the Gold Ringo Lockseed._

_"**Henshin."**_

To be continued…

**AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The first chapter will be undergoing a rewrite in the future, removing the Kamen Rider Taisen thing because I don't like the idea that much.**


	9. Chapter 08

Chapter 08: A Certain Fun Loving Girl Meets an Injured Young Man

* * *

York stood atop the roof of the hospital, the wind rushed through his short hair. It had been about two months since his fight with Demushu, and he was slowly recovering. Rei had long since rejoined the battle against the Overlords and the Inves, with the latter appearing more frequently. York would have known since Shinji barely stopped by, due to the Inves.

He slowly limped, with his crutch in hand, toward the edge of the roof. From that spot he could see everything in the city. The city was magnificent to his eyes, the only good thing to see while in the hospital.

"I wonder how everyone back home is doing…" York said, looking down at Tokyo-3. "It really is beautiful at sunset." He sat down on the closest bench and removed a small book from his pajama's pocket. He slowly opened it and began to write in it.

_Dear Mei,_

_ How are you? Another day has ended in this damned hospital and once again the view is just as stunning as when I first saw it. Nothing to say to you today, though. I miss you a lot, along with all the others. I guess this is goodnight for now._

_ With Love,_

_ York_

It was a book filled with his letters, the only thing keeping him sane in this world full of misery. His head jerked up to look at the fleeing sun.

"It's almost like a fairy tale gone wrong. This city and this world are all just on a one way path to destruction." York said, stumbling back to his single foot and crutch. "What I wouldn't give for something good to actually happen one of these days." He looked out once more. "The only beautiful thing is this sunset."

"I guess it is pretty beautiful, at least as beautiful as a city like this can get." A voice said from behind York. He slowly turned around to see the new person in his presence. It was a tall girl with brown hair that was tied off into two long twin tails. She wore a school uniform and seemed to be about York's age.

"Do I know you?" York said, his tone dry as sand. He wasn't good with meeting people, especially girls.

"I don't think you would." The girl said, walking to see the sunset. "It's pretty nice isn't it? No better way to come to this city then to see this."

"You have good taste; it's the only good thing about this city." York said, looking at the tall buildings in the distance.

"You're not very happy are you?" The girl said, a frown falling on her face.

"Depends on what you mean by happy… I've been in this damn place for god knows how long. I'm just a bit tired of it, that's all." York said, sighing. "Who are you anyway?"

Turning around, he saw the girl now in his personal space. She was sniffing him. York blushed furiously as he looked at the girl.

"Excuse me? What are you doing?" York said, unable to move away without falling over.

The girl continued to sniff him before looking up at him.

"You smell like the Helheim. That's a nice smell." She said, a Cheshire cat grin appearing on her face. "I like that smell. My name is Mari Illustrious Makinami, yours?"

"I'm York, a pleasure I'm sure." York said, stumbling a bit causing his crutch to fall to the ground with him in tow.

"Ouch." York said, his eyes closed as he rubbed the back of his head. He slowly opened his eyes to see the girl lying on top of him. Her eyes opened too and their faces were only inches apart.

She quickly recovered from the ground, leaving York on the cement roof.

"Cripple here, a little help?" York said, sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh I'm sorry about that, I forgot you were crippled." Mari replied, reaching down to help the crippled Rider. "Sorry about all that." She had a small blush on her face.

"Yeah same here…" York said, grabbing his crutch. "I guess I'll head back inside no-." HE was cut off by the sounds Inves appearing on the roof. "Inves? Here?"

"You know about those things?" Mari said, a smile appearing on her face.

"I guess so." York said, looking around. The Inves were blocking the stair way. "Damn it, they've blocked the stairs."

"That means I can have some fun, right?" Mari said, a full on psycho smile appearing on her face. "I'll save you, so just sit back and enjoy."

"What do you mean?" York said, just about ready to attempt to fight the Inves with his crutch. Mari simply laughed and removed a large red belt and a clear Lockseed.

"A Lockseed and Genesis Driver?" York said, surprised at the two items.

"So you know about them? Time to test them out on real Inves." Mari said, attaching the belt to her waist.

"**Henshin."** Mari said, unlocking the Peach Energy Lockseed.

_**Peach Energy**_

She placed the Lockseed onto the Driver bay and locked it into place. Above her a large peach appeared and hovered over her.

**Lock On! Soda~ Peach Energy Arms!**

The peach fell down on her head and opened to form chest armor, while the rest of her body became covered in a pink Arabian styled suit. In her hands was a large red bow like weapon, the Sonic Arrow.

"She has the finished product?" York said, simply watching.

"Just watch me go, okay cripple?" Marika said, running forward at the three Elementary Inves.

The medium sized creatures squealed as they ran at the pink Rider. She simply laughed and struck with the bladed arrow, effectively causing them to screech in pain. One of the Inves leapt up into the air and head for her back. Once again she quickly turned around and kicked it around its face, causing it to fall over.

York watched in amazement as the girl quickly dispatched the creatures one-by-one. The first one didn't stand a chance as Marika knocked it to the ground. She stood over it and shot an arrow into its face at point blank range. The second one met a similar fate as she stabbed it with the bladed point to end its life. The final one came running at York.

"Oh shit." York said, fear in his eyes. He braced for impact, only for the creature to stop before falling over.

A large pink arrow went through its body, and it collapsed. York simply looked to see the archer looking at him.

"Nice face you got there." Marika said, closing the Peach Energy Lockseed. "You can pay me back with your time." She simply went down the stairs, leaving York to himself.

"What just happened?" York said, confused as to what he had just seen. "Best not to think about it." York made his way back to his relocated single room, and directly to sleep, not wanting to deal with the rest of the night.

Usually York was awoken by the ambient sounds of the outside. Instead this morning he was awoken by something else.

"The hell is going on here?" York said, still half asleep.

"It's already 10 in the morning and you're still asleep? Good thing I came to check in on you." Mari said, looking at the person in the bed.

"What are you doing here?" York asked, a bit annoyed.

"I told you yesterday. You're paying for my services with your time." Mari said, with a matter of fact tone in her voice.

"And how long will that last?"

"Let's say until you're dead."

"Oh joy."

_**To be continued…**_


	10. Chapter 09

Chapter 09: The Odd Couple

* * *

York's eyes shot open and a smile appeared on his face. It was the day he was being discharged from the hospital. Yesterday he had ditched his crutch and could now walk around on his own, albeit slowly. He would be allowed to return home, but would return for further physical therapy sessions.

Over to his left, still asleep, was Mari. The girl had kept her promise and pretty much moved into York's hospital room. She was a strange girl, but she made for okay company. York sighed and got up to stretch. He opened up blinds and looked around the white room.

"I'm finally out of this room. I can go back to my crappy apartment now." York said, excited to be able to live alone again. Despite making for company, Mari did get a bit on his nerves. He could once again wear his own clothes too, which was a plus from the hospital robes he wore while in the hospital.

"You're finally out of here, huh?" Mari said, having woken up and having listened to York.

"Looks like it. I can kind of hobble now without my crutch now, so I'm golden now." York said, moving slowly around the room.

"Look at you go." Mari teased, poking fun at the slower moving York.

"Yeah laugh all you want. For me this is a huge accomplishment." York said, a bit annoyed at her but said it in a proud tone. "I can walk without a crutch now, and being able to do that is enough for me."

"Good for you Mr. York. I guess I'll let you move out. Au revoir." Mari said, literally bouncing out of the room.

"Well she's gone for now I guess." York said, smiling a bit. "Time to get my stuff and wait for the doctor."

York collected his small items including his journal and some other miscellaneous items. Some time passed and York was able to check out of the hospital, free to join the limited world once again.

The city hadn't really changed in the time he had been gone, but that was expected since the Armored Riders had joined protecting the city. Of course, this whole city would probably fall within days if the Riders didn't always keep the city safe.

York strolled to some local stores and picked up some cleaning supplies since his home had probably collected some dust in the time he was gone. He was moving slow, but it was that good kind of slow. He smiled to himself as he walked down the street, bags with his cleaning supplies in hand.

"Might not be the best way to spend my day, but that apartment is probably in bad condition. I'll need to get some food too." York said.

York made his way to his issued apartment, gifted to him by Gendo Ikari in exchange for training Shinji. He wasn't the best apartment, but it got the job done. It was a four room apartment including the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and a small living room. He made his way up the stairs, as a way of training his leg, and got to his door.

"Finally I'm here." York said, tired from all the walking he had done. It wasn't that much, but it was a lot for someone who had just been released from the hospital. He absentmindedly opened the door, and his eyes opened in shock.

"Why the hell is my door open?" York said, opening the door all the way and looking in. "A robber? No it couldn't be, I don't have anything here to steal." He walked into the entrance and closed the door, locking it behind him. He looked around to see the dust around some of his counters cleared in the kitchen. "The hell is going on here?" He lifted the bags with his supplies onto the counter and moved his way into the bedroom.

"Welcome back." A voice said from within the room. It was an all too similar voice. York slowly creeped his way into the room, where the blinds were wide open. The room was clean and so was the bed, but the person in the room was no surprise at all.

"Mari?" York asked, looking at the twin tailed girl.

"Yeah what's up?" Mari replied, putting her few clothes into the drawer that York had in the room.

"What are you doing in here?" York said, walking into the room fully.

"Well I came here and saw that the place was dusty as all hell. I realized it wouldn't be the most fun thing to do for the day, but if I'm going to be living here I decided that I'd fix the place up a bit." Mari explained, turning around. "I think I did a pretty good job with it, don't ya think?"

"Yeah I think you did a bang up job. Only issue here is that you're in my apartment." York said, miffed at the girl.

"Oh no, no, no my little York. I think you mean **our** apartment. Remember that I own you." Mari said, walking over to York and looking him dead in the eyes. York never realized she was about the same height as him.

"You own me?" York asked, baffled a bit.

"I saved you from certain death and now you belong to me, got it?" She said, sticking her finger in his face. "Now that we're done here, let's go out."

"I just got back though; I don't have a lot of time to go out." York said, attempting to avoid leaving the clean apartment.

"You don't have anything better to do, so let's go do something fun. You owe me for cleaning this apartment anyway." Mari said, grabbing onto York's coat. "Let's go."

…

York and Mari walked down the street. Mari had both of her arms wrapped around York's left arm. To anyone else they looked like a normal couple on a date. To York it was the girl who had entangled him in her schemes.

"So where do you want to go first, York?" Mari said, leading the annoyed man down the street.

"I want to go back to my apartment." York deadpanned at the girl.

"Too bad we can go back to **our** apartment later tonight. I want to go get something to eat." Mari said, stopping for a moment to think. "What do you want to eat?"

"I honestly don't know." York said, thinking about the question. "I've been in the hospital too long to actually remember what real food tasted like."

"Well looks like I'll have to take you to my favorite place then." Mari said, booting up like a computer and resuming their walk. York sighed and admitted defeat to the twin tailed girl. She was in his life now, and he had to deal with it. As long as nobody knew.

"Sensei!" A voice called out from behind him.

"Oh no..." York said, recognizing the voice and the position he is in.

"Sensei!" Shinji said as he walked up to him but noticed Mari. "You have a girlfriend?"

York groaned a bit, but Mari began to speak up for him.

"Yeah you could say that." Mari said, her smile growing larger and obviously having fun. "We met at the hospital, where I saved him."

"You saved Sensei?" Shinji asked, looking at the annoyed York.

"Yes..." York groaned, rolling his eyes.

"And because I saved him he owes me." Mari said.

"Owes you what, though, exactly? Shinji inquired, looking at the still groaning York.

Mari smiles as she looked to York's face.

"Let's just say he owes me everything he has. Now let's go, there's a few more places I wanted to go to." Mari said, pulling York away.

"See ya Shinji, I guess." York said, his voice fading as the girl dragged him away.

Mari dragged York to several stores, and the two did not actually buy anything. The entire day was wasted, at least to York, doing inconsequential things. It made him more tired than he already was, and added on to that was the pain in his legs from walking all day. The two eventually decided to retire back to the apartment.

"We're finally back." York said, a small tired smile on his face.

"I guess we are." Mari said, unlocking the door and leading York inside. She quickly ditched York as she flew into the bedroom, causing York to once again sigh.

"Alright, now what are you doing in my room?" York said, opening the door to his bedroom. Looking inside he saw Mari changing, causing him to quickly blush as he slammed the door shut. The door slowly opened behind him.

"I think you mean **our** room." Mari said from within the room.

"I just hope she doesn't expect me to get into bed with her." York muttered to himself. York sighed and got his pajamas and changed in the bathroom.

He came out to see Mari settling in his bed. "My bed too, really?" York said, dismayed at the girl in his bed.

"**Our** bed, York. Everything here is ours. Of course except for you, because you're mine." Mari said, pointing at York.

"Actually...I need to use the toilet. Be right back!" York said, using his quick thinking to make up an excuse.

"Such an amusing guy." Mari said to herself before taking off her glasses and putting them on the dresser but she noticed York's journal nearby.

"He keeps a diary, how cute." Mari said, quickly putting her glasses back on and opening the journal. She flipped it open to its first entry.

8/21

_I'm in the hospital after some weird stuff went on. I think I got hurt in the neck, but I don't really remember. Mei is here with me and Takatora visits so I don't get lonely. They're great people and I don't think I could do without them, especially since it's been lonely since Dad died._

Mari frowned at this but wondered who Takatora or Mei is. She flipped to the next page.

8/24

_Takatora and Professor Ryoma are missing. I don't know why Kogane did this, but he keeps looking for Mei and me. I'm still injured and I have to keep Mei safe, or at least the other way around. She won't give up and I can't do anything. I'm a little scared. _

Mari felt a little of anxiety but turned the next page.

8/31

_Kogane escaped back into the Helheim. I tried to look for him, but I couldn't find him. I ran into Deemushu again and I ran. I know it's cowardly, but Deemushu scares me for some reason. I don't know where to go now... I'm lost in the forest._

She then heard a flushing noise before she quickly closed the book, put right where she found it, and placed her glasses away. York came out.

"You done?"

"Yeah.' York answered.

"If we're sleeping together, I guess I don't have much of a problem with it then." York said, resigning himself to the bed.

Mari looked over and looked at York's neck. There was discolored skin there, assumingly from the attack that the journal had in it.

"You sure you don't want to do anything more then?" She said, smiling at him.

"I-I'm good." York answered with a blush but Mari tackled him to the bed.

"You don't look too good. Maybe the two of us can have some fun?" Mari said, a fierce blush appearing on York's face.

"I-I don't know about that. What kind of fun do you have in mind?" York asked hoping it wasn't what he thinks it is.

She put her mouth down to his ear.

"Maybe sometime later." Mari whispered, biting his ear quickly and then pulling away. A blush appeared on both of their faces.

"G-Good so what should we do instead?" York asked.

"Considering you're mine, York, I'd like to get to know you a bit." Mari asked, also curious of what she read in the journal but has to be very discreet about her questions.

"So what do you want to know about me?" York said, as Mari got off of him and moved to her side of the bed.

"You're a Rider right? You get hurt a lot, like before the last hospital visit?" Mari asked, trying to see if he'd mention the neck.

"Well I don't really visit hospitals frequently but my last trip was a doozy." York said before showing his neck injury.

"What happened there?" She asked as she placed her hand on it.

"I don't really remember a whole lot, honestly. I got into a fight with an Inves and it beat me. I don't remember much, but I do remember it blunting me in the neck with his sword." York said, pointing to the discoloration. "For some reason this bruise never disappeared."

"You have any family? Where are they?" Mari asked, hoping to learn a bit more.

"I grew up with a single parent, my dad. He died after a...incident. There are other people that I consider family though." York answered.

"Like who?"

"The family I moved in with had a 13 year old girl named Mei. She kind of became my crutch after dad died." York said, a little embarrassed. "I miss her a lot. I also had my boss where I worked. His name was Takatora and he was like an older brother to me."

"You had a couple people didn't you?" Mari said, seeing a bit of pain in York's face. "Yeah, Takatora went missing eventually and I couldn't find him."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mari said, seeing the pain he's been through.

"What about you, Mari? Any family?"

"Not really. Not that I can remember them personally. I've been raised by NERV all these years. Being here in this room with you kind of makes it feel like family though." Mari said, true to her words.

"That's tough Mari. I'm sorry."

"It's okay though. I have you." Mari answered.

"Same." York said, his voice now somber. He thought for a moment. She had spent every day with him in the hospital, even sleeping in that room. He didn't realize that she had snuggled into him, her face at peace. "I guess we can stay like this for as long as you want."

"Good because I want to be like this all night." Mari answered in a sleepy yet content tone of voice.

"I wonder how long this will last." York said, chuckling a bit.

"Forever, since you belong to me."

"I guess I should get used to this again. Hey Mari?"

"Hmmm?"

"What did you do before becoming a Rider?"

"I don't really know honestly. It doesn't really matter now, since I'm a Rider I can have all the fun I want. I even got a little slave out of it too..." Mari said, drifting into sleep.

York looked down at her. "She looks so at peace. It's been a while since I've seen that..."

'Maybe I should give her a chance.' York thought before going to sleep with his arm wrapped around Mari's back. York too drifted away into sleep. It was the first peaceful rest in a long time.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: I needed to get this chapter out, so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Spartan719 for some of the text of this chapter.**


End file.
